The Space Between
by BithaBlu
Summary: Episode tags written for Eureka Tag over on LiveJournal. The finale tag for S4.5 is up and- surprise!- there's more Zane wangst. Cause that's how I roll. Also- Parrish sucks at manipulation.
1. Surprisingly, The Cake Wasn't A Lie

Title: Surprisingly, The Cake Wasn't A Lie  
>Author Name: BithaBlu<br>Characters: Jo, S.A.R.A.H.  
>Rating: PG13<br>Warnings: Language (?)  
>Disclaimer: Don't own Eureka. Don't own Twitter.<br>Summary: The 'pre-season warm-up comment fic' over at Eureka_Tag on LJ involved various ways to use some of S.A.R.A.H.'s tweets (yes, our favorite smart house has her own spoilerific twitter account). I decided to use this one:  
><strong>_S_A_R_A_H_: When I say I am going to bake a cake, I actually bake a cake. There is no trickery involved.<br>**because I am gods-damned addicted to Portal and I love any/every reference to GlaDOS quotes. I even went after the achievement on WoW because of it. I _am_ that damn nerdy.  
>Oh yeah- fic. Here it is. I even added stuff to it. Like more words and better grammar and stuff-<p>

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><p>Before Eureka, Jo never played video games. Her brothers had been bugnuts about them but they didn't interest her at all until a LAN party had taken over Cafe Diem. Vincent had every available inch of wall space covered in screens and it seemed like most of the town had turned out for a Soul Caliber tourniment.<p>

Jo had picked up a controller that night and had been hooked ever since.

Strangely, first person shooters weren't her preferred choice. RPGs and puzzle games were her thing. Admittedly, zombie shooters were her favorite form of catharsis but, despite Fargo's various attempts, the rest of the FPSes bored her. Real combat had killed _that_ joy before it had even began.

Sorry, Tom Clancy, but virtual Vegas can't compare to actual Afganistan.

Her favorite game, though, was a game that Zane had introduced her to in an attempt to explain violations of physics. He had been babbling about some project involving temporal relocation and Star Trek tech back in the old time-line and she just couldn't wrap her head around the insanely complicated ideas he was talking about. Instead of getting frustrated with her lack of understanding, Zane had grabbed a controller and showed her exactly what he wanted to do.

It took less than twenty minutes for Jo to volunteer to test out any portal guns- should he actually be able to create one.

It took Zane less than thirty minutes to figure out how to turn a single player game into a competative strip version that resulted in a full weekend of naked video gaming.

Though there wouldn't be any of that kind of fun going on any more, Jo still missed the game. She occasionally played a few levels when she had a chance but the replay value was wearing off without the added clothes-optional challenge. But then, joy of joys, Valve announced the release of Portal 2 and Jo couldn't help but pre-order it.

When the game arrived, Carter was spending the weekend visiting Zoe at college and Jo planned on a weekend playing Portal and Portal 2 on the big screen.

Unfortunetly, Jo didn't even make it all the way through the first game before S.A.R.A.H. started vocalizing some issues with GLaDOS. Lots of issues. Nitpicky shit too.

But when Jo realized that S.A.R.A.H. was more concerned that the cake was a lie than the fact that GLaDOS was trying to kill Chell, she turned off the game and went to go read instead.


	2. Annoyance

Title: Annoyance  
>Author Name: BithaBlu<br>Characters: Jo, Carter  
>Rating: PG13<br>Warnings: Language  
>Disclaimer: Don't own it. Spoilers for 4.11<br>Summary: The crisis has been averted but Jo finds herself annoyed by the little details of it all. Carter just has bad timing and a good shoulder to rant on.  
>Author's Note: These are tags written for Eureka_Tag over on LJ. I'm trying to stay within cannon so they're not as fun as I'd like.<p>

"Hey Jo, you busy?" Carter popped his head in through open door to Jo's office to find his former deputy with her feet up on her desk staring at some a distracted grunt, Jo waved him in and he took a seat as he asked, "You wanna join me on a Cafe Diem run? Vincent's got all those pigs-in-a-blanket left over and that was the one part of the wedding I was looking forward to."

Jo snorted and finally looked up from her datapad, "As much fun as it would be to watch you stuff your face with hors d'oeuvres, I've got to get started on these reports. You have no idea how much freakin' paperwork one little blackout generates."

"Oh come on, Jo, you have to eat."

"Seriously Carter, even if it weren't just the usual BS, I've still got a major security breach to deal with." Jo sighed, shook her head and turned her attention back down to her files, "And Mansfield's going to want a report on the shuttle incident ASAP."

Jo's phrasing caught Carter's attention. "Is the shuttle incident the security breach or did something else happen? Anything I can help with?"

Looking up from her datapad, Jo scowled, "Only if you can help me figure out how the hell Allison was able to hyjack control using only Henry and Larry."

Carter frowned. Allison hadn't hyjacked control. She had just assumed command at a critical time. There was a difference- right? Shrugging it off, he decided to focus on the other part. "Henry's the mayor and Larry's Fargo's assistant. Why shouldn't Allison have been able to use them for the triad thingie?"

"Henry may be the mayor of Eureka but he's nothing in the official hiarchy of GD. He's not even a department head. So while Larry makes sense if you go by GD's standards, Henry doesn't." Jo paused for a second and then added, "Common sense says Henry should have command control level clearance but, if you use common sense, Larry shouldn't. There's no way that Allison should have been able to use those two to take over. So, somewhere, there's a problem."

There was a problem, all right, but Carter wasn't sure it was with the security. There was something about Jo's tone that made him think that the issue was more about Allison assuming control. It might have been the subtle phrasing or the fact Jo's left eye twitched violently any time she said Allison's name. Normally, Carter was all for avoiding conflict but this seemed like something that needed to be taken care of right away. So, as softly and unaccusingly as possible, he asked, "Are you sure that's what's wrong?"

Jo glared at him. "Yes, Carter. That's what's wrong. If Allison could usurp control like that, what makes you think that someone else couldn't?"

"So what are you going to do? Make it so only a few specific people could assume command when Fargo's missing?"

"Yeah. And I'm going to make sure that either myself or my second-in-command has to be one of the three."

_'Annnnnnddddddddd, that was the problem'_ Carter thought. Jo wasn't just pissed that someone could take over, she was pissed that Allison had ignored the security aspect of it all. She had just jumped in and done what she thought was the right thing to do without consulting anyone else. Belatedly, Carter's brain added, _'Which is exactly what she accused me of doing.'_

"What? You don't agree?"

Ooh. Jo didn't sound happy. So Carter quickly responded with, "No. I think it's a good idea. I'm just wondering what would have happened if Allison had waited for you instead of just grabbing the two closest people."

Jo's head snapped up and she burst out with, "If she had waited for the _head of security_ we could have told her that Zane and Fargo were up there. All she needed to do was wait one fucking minute and she wouldn't have nearly _blown them up_. But instead, she just takes over like she's still in charge and damn near killed him. Them. Whatever."

Carter sighed. There was no way for this to end well. Jo didn't seem like she was in the listening-to-the-other-person's-side mood and he couldn't think of anything to say.

After a brief moment of silence, Jo slumped. "Look, Carter, I've got a lot of crap to deal with. Why don't you go hit up Cafe Diem before the pigs get cold."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I think I just need to get this shit done and get some sleep."

Quietly, Carter just got up and left. There was no way to resolve the issue right now and Jo was right- those pigs were probably getting cold.


	3. Deep Discounts

Title: Deep Discounts  
>Author Name: BithaBlu<br>Characters: Jo, Zane, Fargo & Vincent  
>Rating: PG13<br>Warnings: Language, Copious amounts of Tool song titles  
>Disclaimer: Don't own it. Spoilers for 4.12<br>Summary: Song hypnosis could have been worse. Way worse. And also hilarious.

Author's Note: This was my entry for the Make-Up Week over on Eureka_Tag on LiveJournal. Since Make-Up Week is supposed to be a punishment for not doing it in the first place, we had the added challenges of  
><em>-Tag must be for a week you missed posting, and must tie into the episode you missed<em>  
><em>-Tag must be a minimum of 400 words, instead of the usual 100.<em>  
><em>-Tag must include one of the following phrases (bonus points for whoever gets the source!): "Movin' right along", "Hey, I've never seen the sun come up in the west!" or "Trust my navigation."<em>  
>Hopefully it's as funny to y'all as it is to me. If not, oh well. I still wrote it and you still read it. Someone wins. Something. Maybe.<p>

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><p><em>"Closer." <em>

_"Ultimate Showdown."_

_"Used to Love Her." _

"Ooh, good one Vince."

As Jo approached Cafe Diem's counter, she noticed Fargo, Zane and Vincent all clustered around the jukebox's playlist. Curiosity overrode her desire to avoid Zane after their 'incident' the night before and she walked over just as Fargo burst out laughing.

"Oh man, I'm so glad no one was listening to that one." Zane and Vincent looked at where Fargo was pointing and simultaneously broke out giggling. Despite everything that had happened, Jo couldn't help but grin a little at them. Cocking his head to the side, Fargo studied the list and added, "Honestly, out of all of Bloodhound Gang's songs, that one's the worst but none of these would have been good with the neurolinguistic enhancements."

"Which one?" All three of them jumped and looked around guiltily at Jo. Well, Vincent and Fargo looked like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Zane looked like the proverbial cat post canary-snack.

Fargo quickly straightened up and adjusted his tie. As soon as his 'professional' face was in place, he asked, "Which one what?"

"Which Bloodhound Gang song? _Bad Touch, Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny_ or _The Lapdance Is So Much Better When The Stripper Is Crying_?"

Zane snorted. Vincent and Fargo looked shocked at Jo's bland delivery but, eventually, Fargo was finally able to sputter out, "I was actually talking about _I Hope You Die_ but now I'm thinking all of them are pretty damn bad."

Sprawling back against the counter, Zane grinned up at Jo and said, "I'm surprised, Lupo. I wasn't expecting you to be such an expert on that band's repertoire."

Jo sighed and raised an eyebrow in mock annoyance. "Four older brothers and two tours as a Ranger. If there's something gross and immature that I haven't heard, I'd be surprised."

"I've been asking everyone what song they're glad they didn't listen to yesterday," Vincent started as he slid Jo her morning Vinspresso, "but I'm guessing you just wish that Zane had been listening to anything but Talking Heads."

"Actually, I regret listening to Bob Marley more than anything. But, as far as Zane's concerned, I'm just glad that he wasn't listening to Tool. I don't even want to know what he would have done with _Stinkfist_. Or _Ticks and Leeches_." Jo tilted her head to the side and added thoughtfully, "And _The Grudge_ could have ended badly. Like apocalypse badly."

"Well, if we're talking Tool apocalypse songs, I'm glad he didn't hear _Schism_ or _Aenema_. Then we'd either be blown up, disassembled, or drown." Fargo said. The four of them ran through the lyrics and soon they were all nodding in agreement. Even Zane shrugged and made a slightly apologetic face as though he were picturing what he would have done. But the expression on Zane's face quickly shifted to one of horror as Fargo continued. "On the bright side, he didn't listen to _Prison Sex_ either. That would be a whole new level of 'ahhhhh, no!'."

Jo tried to cover her abrupt bout of laughter with a fit of fake coughs but no one was buying it. Especially since she was still giggling between coughs.

"And that, my friends, if my cue to go take care of my other customers. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the 'family friendly' part of the building and not think about _could_ have happened yesterday." Vincent grinned as he back away from the conversation and Jo, Zane and Fargo couldn't help but laugh as they heard him singing, _"Movin' right along (doog-a-doon doog-a-doon). Hey LA, where've you gone? Send someone to fetch us, were in Sasketchewan!_"

"From Maynard to muppets. Only Vincent." Fargo shook his head in amusement and watched as Vincent happily bobbed and weaved his way through the tables singing Kermit and Fozzie's parts in different voices.

"Ok, so we've established that I'm not allowed to listen to Tool anymore. And, Fargo? You've officially ruined what started out as a great day and it's only 8am." Zane grinned at the slight blush the crept over Jo's face. Refraining from commenting over the reason for her shifting complexion (and it took some serious effort), Zane asked, "Do either of you have anything more to add or are you both done trying to ruin my good mood?"

Fargo shook his head in the negative but Jo paused as though deep in thought. Her lips twitched briefly and, to Zane, it looked like she was trying to suppress some serious amusement. With a look of mock innocence, Jo smiled disarmingly and said, "Well Zane, at least you didn't listen to _Hooker With a Penis_."

Fargo spit out his coffee in a hilarious spray of shock and horror. As Vincent ran over with a magically appearing towel in hand, Fargo glared at Jo. "You could have, at least, warned me you were going to say that. Now I'm having horrible visuals of Zane in big hoop earrings and go-go boots and that's not even what the song's about."

"Which song?" Vincent asked.

Still in whine-mode, Fargo bleated out, "_Hooker with a Penis_."

"Oh god," Vincent eyed Zane speculatively and shuddered, "I'm sorry, sweetie, but you would make an ugly woman. And you do not have the legs for go-go boots."

"Ok, seriously, that's not even what the song is about!" Zane burst out as he looked at the three of them, baffled as to why they were picturing him in hooker boots. As Vincent winced at a particularly vivid visual, Zane slumped against the counter, "And I wouldn't have worn go-go boots. I don't need to dress up to be pretty. Bitches."

Jo damn near choked on her Vinspresso. Zane being pouty and snarky? It was too hilarious- especially before her first coffee of the morning was gone. Trying to just roll with it, she asked, "What would you have done?"

Zane smirked and Jo couldn't help grin in return as he said, "I would have done what any member of the oldest profession would have done- offered my services at a discount to the local law enforcement officers"

"I don't think that's what NWA meant by _Fuck tha Police_, Zane." Jo's serious tone quickly dissolved into giggles again as she added, "But I'll be sure to let Carter and Andy know about your offer."

***

Just after Jo said that, Andy walked through the door and was perplexed by the sight of Vincent, Fargo, Zane and Jo all laughing hysterically as they spotted him. Running a quick scan to make sure they weren't under the influence or suffering from brain damage, Andy just tilted his head and smiled at them.

Humans. Eventually he'd understand them.


	4. These Shoes Were Not Made For Climbing

Title: These Shoes Were Not Made For Climbing  
>Author Name: BithaBlu<br>Characters: Jo, Zane  
>Rating: PG13<br>Warnings: Language (?)  
>Disclaimer: Don't own it. Spoilers for 4.13<br>Summary: Some days, Jo missed the old timeline more than anything.

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><p>"<em>My boots<em>," Jo thought as she clung to metal pole covered in condensation and tried valiently to stop her slow slide downwards. "_Right now, I miss my old deputy boots more than anything else_."

On any given day, Jo ran through a list of things she missed from the old timeline a number of times. Some days, she missed the picture of her and her mother from her first ballet recital. Larry's rocket had reduced the photo to ash and that had been one of the few pictures she couldn't replace by scanning her brothers' photo albums.

Other days, Jo missed being able to talk to people without having them flinch. Apparently Enforcer!Jo had been an enormous bitch because even Vincent had a tendency to twitch when Jo got even the slightest bit snippy. In the old timeline, Jo had friends outside of Zane, Carter, Zoe, Allison, Taggert, Henry and Fargo. Not many, admittedly, and not anyone she was particularilly close to but there had been people she could talk to.

Most days, Jo tried not to think about it but, more than anything, she missed waking up next to Zane. Every morning she woke up and grinned at the way his hair stuck out everywhere. She missed the way he smirked in his sleep and the way he flopped an arm over her when she tried to get out of bed. Every morning she had woken up laughing and rolled her eyes at his barely conscious antics.

Now, she woke up every morning feeling how very much alone she was in the bed.

Mornings sucked.

During the week, she'd wake up early for a run, shower, and then get dressed. Instead of the comfortable and familiar deputy's uniform, Jo would throw on some suit and try to appreciate being able to wear something nice to work. Something fitted and tailored. Something pretty. Of course, then Jo would put on a nice pair of heels to go with the perfectly tailored power suit and that just led back to the situation that she was in now- hanging precariously from a damp and slidy pole, trying to get some traction to climb up the wall in a pair of said heels.

Slipping further down the pole, Jo got angry. Yeah- her deputy boots would be perfect right now but the damn heels shouldn't be this much of a problem. With a sudden burst of determination, Jo ground those pointy heels against the wall and tried to climb her way out of the reactor pit.

She was still screaming for her old boots in her head as Zane pulled her up and out of the pit. As he rolled her away from the edge, Jo lamented the loss of her practical footwear. But when he grinned down at her, his face so close to hers and the feeling of him so familiar it hurt, Jo's old boots fell from their top spot in her list of missed things.

Boots, though useful, could never be as missed as that grin in the morning.


	5. Semantics Shemantics

Title: Semantics  
>Author Name: BithaBlu<br>Characters: Jo, Zane  
>Rating: PG13<br>Warnings: Language (?)  
>Disclaimer: Don't own it. Spoilers for 4.14<br>Summary: Zane likes to interpret things his own way.

* * *

><p>"Why are you doing this again," Jo asked. She and Zane had been working on astrophysics problems for the past two hours and Jo was desperate for a break. She'd even be willing to their personal issues if it meant that he'd stop quizzing her on varient slopes in relations to orbital drift.<p>

"I already told you. It'll be fun to screw with people's expectations of us." Zane looked up from checking Jo's answers on the tablet with a grin. "Jo-Jo, you've got a hell of a grasp on orbital decay and you've got Kepler's first law on eccentricity down."

Jo snorted and tried to hide a tiny smirk behind her cup of Vinspresso. Truth be told, she was proud of being able to answer all of Zane's practice questions with a decent level of accuracy. Dating a theoretical phyicist who liked to babble about his projects for two years had, apparently, been some sort of educational osmosis. There was no reason that Jo should know how to calculate the distance between two foci or how Bekenstein-Hawking radiation could affect sensor readings, but she did and, for once, the formerly useless (to her) information was actually being helpful. What wasn't helpful was Zane's answer to her question.

"Seriously, Zane, why are you teaching me this?"

Jo watched as a familiar smirk danced across his face and she waited for the inevitable snarky comment but, instead, Zane paused and seemed to contemplate his answer for once.

"Because you told me you wanted some space. This is how I'm choosing to give it to you."

Jo's eyebrows bunched and she stared at him confused. "How is this space? You're sitting right next to me."

Grinning slyly, Zane shifted closer to her and started stroking her knuckles with his thumb. The data pad hid his minor indiscretion from public view but Jo had to force herself into sitting upright instead of just leaning over and melting into his arms like some moronic fluff-brain from one of those stupid romance novels. For a moment, Jo was willing to just let him distract her but she realized that he was talking and she tried to focus on what he was saying.

"You never specified what kind of space. Most people would assume that you meant physical distance between us but I didn't like that option." Zane shrugged and smiled mischieviously. "After our little 'every kid wants to go into space' chat, I figured I can give you a chance to go to Titan. You know, in space as opposed to space between."

Jo raised an eyebrown and tried not to laugh, "So now you're misinterpreting me on purpose?"

Zane slid his hand around hers and held it lightly for a moment. "No no Jo-Jo. I'm just manipulating semantics and doing exactly what you asked. Even if you didn't mean it that way."

"God- you're even fighting me on semantics. I guess I'll have to tell you exactly what I want from now on." Jo tried for a serious tone but failed. When Zane's eyes lit up gleefully, Jo thought about what she had just said and groaned. "Damn it. You know what I mean."

Zane just laughed.


	6. Another Discussion Between Delinquents

Title: Another Discussion Between Delinquents  
>Author Name: BithaBlu<br>Characters: Zoe, Zane  
>Rating: PG13<br>Warnings: Language  
>Disclaimer: Don't own it. Spoilers for 4.15<br>Summary: Zoe needs to vent.

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><p>"You're an asshole."<p>

Zane looked up from the data pad he'd been studying to see the unwavering glare of one Zoe Carter sitting on the stool next to him. Stealing a quick glance around Cafe Diem, Zane realized that people were emphatically _not_ looking in their direction. Also, the few people that had been sitting near him had suddenly decided to sit on the other side of the building. Apparently, having Zoe pissed off at you awarded you a certain amount of privacy.

Or, everyone else was just eavesdropping safely out of the blast zone.

Whatever.

"Don't you have anything to say?"

Zoe still hadn't blinked and Zane found the stare to be a little unnerving. Not as bad as Jo's undivided attention, but still bad. And a little creepy. In the hopes that replying would force her to blink, Zane tried for an apologetic expression (but he knew it just looked like he was wincing) and said, "I'm sorry?"

"Seriously? You're sorry. How about an explanation? Or some groveling. What about an apology that doesn't sound like a question?"

Sighing, Zane set down the data pad. Zoe was just as tenacious as the sheriff when it came to the truth and, despite the obvious need to keep a few things secret, there was no way out of this that didn't end in a few brief moments of honesty. "You're right. I am an asshole. I shouldn't have hung out with you just to piss off your dad. I was a dick and I'm sorry."

Ok. Zoe was finally blinking but she was doing that rapid blinking thing. Equally creepy.

"You're apologizing for what?"

Oops. That was the not the right thing. Shit. "Uh, for something else apparently."

"Uh, yeah. How about for sleeping with Jo?" Zoe was back to the staring thing again and Zane was getting annoyed. He'd just hung out with her a few times. It's not like she owned him or anything.

"I'm not apologizing for that." Hell, the only thing Zane was sorry about when it came to sleeping with Jo was that he wasn't anymore.

"Why not?"

Really? What was her problem? Zane tried to keep his temper in check but it was getting difficult. Yeah, he'd used this nice little kid to piss of her dad but it wasn't like he had _done_ anything with her. Through gritted teeth he answered, "Because I don't regret that. At all. Ever."

Zane was expecting some kind of horrible explosive reaction but Zoe just leaned back with a smug little smile on her face. She looked way too happy and Zane was beginning to wonder if she'd been brain-hacked like Allison. But, instead of spewing some world-domination bullshit or whatever Beverly talked about, Zoe said, "Good. If you'd said you wished you hadn't slept with Jo, I'd have to kick you."

What. The. Fuck.

"See, my dad told me some stuff last night and it turns out that my pseudo-sister had a fairly good reason for doing what she did, even if I'd be less pissed if she had just told me. But she didn't. So I'm just going to be cranky at her for a little bit." It took Zane a second but he caught the gist of what Zoe was saying. Kinda. She caught on to his baffled expression, though, and rolled her eyes at him. With a look that just screamed 'duh', she added, "How about we simplify this. Once upon a timeline..."

Zane paled. She knew. She knew and she was talking about it in the hub of Eureka gossip. Fuck.

"Oh chill. I'm not going to say anything. Well, not here anyways. That's why I came here to talk to you." Zoe paused and looked around. Her zone of silence was still in effect so she continued, "Grace and I were thinking about having a little chit chat in Henry's garage and we were wondering if you'd want to join us."

"Why?"

"Grace and I thought it'd be nice if the three of us had a chance to talk about the craziness. You know, how to deal, info share, basic support group stuff."

"No. I meant, why would you want me there? I thought I was an asshole."

"Oh. I just wanted to make sure that you give a damn about Jo. Just because I'm mad at her doesn't make her any less family. And you're still an asshole. You're just an asshole in the same boat as me and Grace."

Zane's first instinct was laugh and say no but Zoe's casual comment about sharing info caught his attention. Grace and Zoe were probably told way more than what he had gotten in Fargo's two-minute info dump in the depths of space and Jo hadn't added much more than a few tidbits.

"I'm in."

"Good." Zoe smiled and Vince started wandering back in their general direction. "But if you hurt Jo, I'm going to break your knees. And if you don't think I will, just remember that Jo's the one that taught me self-defense."

Vincent swerved and headed back to the other side of the building.


	7. Three Zane Moon

Title: Three Zane Moon  
>Author Name:BithaBlu<br>Characters: Zane, Senator Wen  
>Rating: PG13<br>Warnings: Language (?)  
>Disclaimer: Don't own it. Spoilers for 4.16<br>Summary: I had a summary but I forgot to write it here so I'm just going to sum it up with this: Here's parts of Zane's day that we didn't see. Also- this isn't all of it. This is just part one of two/three. I keep getting distracted by real life crap, though, and I wanted to get this, at least, in on time. So this might get something added to it later. Check back in a week or two.

* * *

><p>Being summoned to Fargo's office wasn't normally that big of a deal. It used to be that Zane would get a nasty little text (if he wasn't in too much trouble) or a security escort (if he was) and then have to sit through a twenty minute lecture on either how to behave in civilized society or that getting sent back to prison was still an option. Blah, blah, blah. These days, it was much more fun: either Fargo and crew needed Zane to do some more of their cyber dirty work or there was some kind of project that Zane would actually enjoy working on. Thing had changed a lot in the last eight months but a visit to the 'principal's office' still wasn't something to get worked up about.<p>

Today, though, was different. First of all, Fargo wasn't the one behind the desk. A very composed and stoic Senator Wen had taken over Fargo's office. She sat in the director's chair like she owned it and it mildly annoyed Zane that someone like her could sneer her way all over GD simply because she was part of a group that held the purse strings.

Hell, if Fargo didn't ask where the money came from, Zane would gladly fund all of GD's research if it meant getting the government asshats out of the picture. Of course, even he would have a hell of a time getting the twenty billion that Senator Wen got for the Astraeus grant. Credit card fraud and hacking corporate bank accounts usually didn't rack up that kind of cash.

Since Senator Wen was the one choosing the the people for the Astraeus mission, Zane was trying to be polite- making that the second big change of Zane's usual pattern of behavior for being in Fargo's office. But behaving himself was a pain on a good day. Now? Now was almost unbearable.

Which led to the last different thing of the day- Zane's presence in Fargo's office wasn't usually requested at midnight. But here he was. At midnight. When sleep should be had. Or Jo. Whichever was available.

So Zane just sat up straight and tried to pay attention in a polite, non-threatening and non-felonious manner. Wen was making it difficult though. She kept babbling in politician-speak instead of just saying what she wanted and Zane was having a hard time keeping track. Finally, he just blurted out, "What is it, exactly, that you want me to do?"

With a resigned sigh, Wen finally gave him a straight answer, "I want you to collaborate with Dr. Haberman on the psychological testing phase. I need to see how candidates react to aggravation in close quarters and how well they can work with others even while competing against each other."

"Work with Larry on the psych phase? Yeah. I can do that."

"Good." Wen gave him a small smile and transferred something to his data tablet. "Here's a list of Dr. Haberman's current plan for inducing aggravation. Review it and let him know if you have any suggestions."

Zane gave the info a quick scan and grinned, "Oh, I've got a few suggestions already. First of all, Larry can do plenty of damage from the outside but you're going to need someone actually in the isolation room to really send people over the edge. And if you want to test team work skills, you're going to have to add a few 'problems' that need more than one person to fix. The toilet not working and the power going out? Both of those can be fixed by one person. I'm not saying those scenarios won't be useful for you to observe but they don't exactly inspire that 'Go Team' mentality. Oh- and Larry needs to stock the fridge with flatulent foods. Milk for the lactose intolerant people, bean burritos, potatoes, onions and asparagus stalks."

Senator Wen made a sound that certainly wasn't a snort. It also wasn't a snicker, a titter or a laugh. It was kind of a dry bark that expressed a brief (and quickly suppressed) moment of amusement.

"I knew your help would be invaluable." The senator paused and then, hesitantly, added, "I'd like to utilize your people 'skills' and have you be the inside man. I think that you'd be the best person for the job. Especially for the first round of testing."

Leaning back in his chair, Zane grinned. "And who's the first group of victims?"

"Douglas Fargo, Holly Marten, Isaac Parrish," Wen check her file quick before finishing with, "and Jo Lupo- provided she passes her written test this morning."

"She'll pass." Zane didn't even hesitate. She'd worked too hard the past few weeks and Zane had been surprised by how easily she had picked it up. He had known that she was smart but her ability to process new information (provided that it was explained decently) was amazing. _Jo_ was amazing. She... was not going to be happy with him reverting to his old obnoxious ways. Zane slouched back in the chair and started to say, "Look, I'll help out where ever I can but I don't really want to-"

"Excellent," Wen interrupted, "And, for your assistance, I'll be happy to review your eligibility for Astraeus."

Huh. All he had to do was be his old pain in the ass self and he'd get his chance to go to Titan.

Hrm.

Jo'd get over it.

Right?

Yeah. She'd forgive him... after the fact... if he explained it... provided she didn't kill him first.

Zane weighed the pros and cons before flipping a mental coin. When 'why not' beat out 'why' Zane nodded and grinned at the senator, "Well then, I'll be happy to help. If you don't mind, I'm going to go see if Larry and I can tweak the test quick."

When Wen nodded, Zane stood up and started walking to the door. A quick thought stopped him and he turned to ask, "The written test is the one where people get yanked out of bed and dragged here without a chance to prepare, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Umm, you might want to call S.A.R.A.H. and clear it with her before you send a squad for Lupo." Zane had a brief flash of what S.A.R.A.H. would do to a group of unsuspecting commandos innocently trying to kidnap Jo and it wasn't a pleasant thought. Then Zane thought of what _Jo_ would do to a group of unsuspecting commandos and that visual was even more disturbing. "And you might want to double the number of guys you send after Jo. Oh- and when you call S.A.R.A.H., ask her how many guns Jo has in reach and where they are so the guys know. You know what, just triple the number of guys and have them tackle her so she doesn't kill anyone. She'd be pissed if she killed one of her guys."

Senator Wen let out another one of those 'laughs' and said, "You're joking right? Ms. Lupo may be tough but I doubt she could take out six soldiers from a dead sleep. And who's Sarah?"

Zane flinched. The senator had no idea who she was dealing with and Jo's security guys were going to pay big time if he didn't warn them. "Senator, think of Jo as Batman without the bankroll. She could kick someone's ass while sleepwalking. Chuck Norris would avoid her before she's had her morning Vinspresso. Trust me when I say that I've seen her take down six opponents without breaking a sweat. And S.A.R.A.H. is Carter's smart house. When one of her people is threatened, she is the single most vicious AI I've ever seen. She demolished Andy. Twice. And that was just for taking Carter's job temporarily."

The senator winced. "Why don't you give this Sarah a call and I'll let Lt. Kemp know that he has permission to triple Ms. Lupo's escort. And, if you haven't figured it out yet, you're restricted to GD until after the test and you can't warn any of the candidates about the test."

"Yeah. I kinda figured that senator. After I get done plotting with Larry, I'm going to crash out in the sleep lab. If you need to find me, that's where I'll be."

Grinning, Zane strode out of Fargo's office. This could be fun _and_ it could be his chance to join Astraeus. Now he just had to figure out how to meet Wen's expectations without pissing off Jo too much.


	8. Actions Speak Louder

Title: Actions Speak Louder  
>Author Name: BithaBlu<br>Characters: Zane, Jo  
>Rating: PG13<br>Warnings: Language (?)  
>Disclaimer: Don't own it. Spoilers for 4.17<br>Summary: Zane wangsts. It's like my brain didn't even try this week.

* * *

><p>In the quiet hours of the morning, Zane stared at the ceiling in his bedroom and tried to sleep. From his early morning pardon to the late night party, it'd been a busy day for him and an even busier day for the woman sleeping soundly beside him. She'd had a hell of a day and, while he was glad she decided to crash out at his place instead of her usual post-carnal marathon out the door, Zane was a little annoyed that he couldn't sleep.<p>

Mostly because of her.

Scratch that.

It was totally Jo's fault that he couldn't sleep.

For someone who refused to awknowledge this- this whatever they were- she was certainly sending some mixed signals. They'd ended up 'saying goodbye' three times today but she still wouldn't actually _say_ anything else. It's not that he wanted her to profess undying love or anything crazy like that.

That'd actually be weird. And kinda creepy.

He just wanted... something. Anything. A phrase. A word. Some sign that she wanted him to see him again. Zane wanted something more than dessert and that scared the hell out of him- which explained was why he was staring at his ceiling wondering about tomorrow instead of being in a blissed out coma from having a threepeater day.

Jo shifted in her sleep and Zane couldn't help but smile at her. For a one woman wrecking crew, she was rediculously cute while asleep. Once unconsciousness had hit, Jo had curled up against him and co-opted Zane's shoulder as her pillow.

Normally, he'd be worried about being drooled on but, tonight, he didn't give a crap if she drooled on his shoulder as long as she was there in the morning. Of course, that thought sent Zane spiraling back into confusion. _Jo_ was supposed be the one wondering if he's going to stay. It was all ass backwards.

Zane sighed. He glanced over at her and noticed that some of her touseled hair was hanging in her face. Leaning over, he brushed the hair back and let his hand lightly cup her face as he muttered, "This would be much easier if you just asked me to stay. Or told me that you'd miss me. Hell, I'd take a 'Your absence will be noted' at this point. Just something to let me know that you want me around."

He wasn't expecting an answer and, yet, he was still disappointed when she stayed silent. So he started to tug his arm out from under Jo's head in order to find a more comfortable position. As his arm started to move, Jo scowled and made a weird little pouty face.

Zane didn't even move his arm more than an inch before Jo made a strange whining growl and grabbed his free arm. Rolling over, Jo pulled Zane along with her- effectively wrapping him around her like a blanket. She was mumbling something but Zane couldn't even tell if she was speaking English. Her tone sounded happy though and Zane peered over her shoulder in surprise.

She was grinning. Granted, she was still asleep but Jo was clutching on to his arm like it was a teddy bear and grinning smugly.

Settling down, Zane found a comfortable position and relaxed. She might not be able to say that she wanted him to stay but, right now, she sure as hell seemed like she wasn't ready to let him go. And he could deal with that. For now.


	9. Popcorn!

Title: Popcorn!  
>Author Name: BithaBlu<br>Characters: Zane, Jo, everyone in Cafe Diem (especially Holly)  
>Rating: PG13<br>Warnings: Language (?)  
>Disclaimer: Don't own it. Spoilers for 4.18<br>Summary: Obligitory Zane/Jo Space Camp fic.

* * *

><p>It hadn't started out as a fight. Actually, it had started with a hug. The hug had surprised most of the people in Cafe Diem even though the majority of the town had heard that the two of them were engaging in 'adult recreation'. The fight shouldn't have been such a shocker but it had been almost a year since the last epic public verbal battle between Zane and Jo so people had been lulled into a sense of complacency. Especially with that hug.<p>

It was just weird.

The fighting, though, that was normal. Admittedly, the script had changed so there were less 'Your ass is going back to jail's and more 'What the hell is wrong with you's. But the residents of Eureka knew how to deal with Jo and Zane yelling at each other. There was an unofficial procedure and everyone- save the newest member of the town- knew to simply back away quietly. People started slipping out the door and Vincent began putting all the orders in to-go boxes.

Holly Marten, having never seen the two of them do anything more than snark at each other, ordered a bowl of popcorn and gleefully watched the drama unfold in front of her.

"You're going to Titan! It's what you wanted. Why are you so pissed?"

"Us, Lupo. I wanted _us _to go to Titan. And we could've if you hadn't dropped out."

"But _you're _still going. I don't see what the problem is."

Holly's eyes bounced between the two of them during their verbal tennis match. She had noticed the silent retreat of the rest of Cafe Diem's patrons but she didn't think anything about it. Holly was just surprised that anyone would want to miss out on this.

"Holly, you might want to back out of the blast zone, sweetie." Vincent said quietly as he pulled her chair backwards. Holly hadn't noticed him walking over and she wondered if he had some kind of secret ninja chef tricks that allowed him to just pop out of thin air.

"But we're just getting to the good part," Holly retorted. Making the puppy dog eyes at Vincent, she continued, "Pretty soon, he's going to say something sweet and then Jo'll actually listen to what he's saying and it'll be ridiculously cute."

"That's not how their fights usually end." Vincent's volume dropped to somewhere between a whisper and a mutter as he tried to tug the reluctant redhead back to a safer spot. "Usually their fights end with a small brawl and Zane in handcuf-"

"Damn it, Jo- I can't go six days without seeing you. How the hell am I supposed to go six months without you?"

Everyone- except Holly- still left in Cafe Diem felt their jaws drop. Even Jo looked stunned at what Zane had said. Zane just crossed his arms and tried to look as though he had totally meant to say that aloud. In public.

Holly, on the other hand, just grinned up at Vincent. "See! I told you!"


	10. Insidious Whispers

Title: Insidious Whispers  
>Characters: Zane, Jo, Beverly<br>Rating: PG13  
>Warnings: Language (?)<br>Disclaimer: Don't own it. Spoilers for 4.19  
>Summary: Both Zane and Jo have little voices in their heads.<br>Author's Note: I actually plotted this out and prepared myself for it to be an AU immediately after tonight's episode. I'm mildly surprised that it's technically not. Yet.  
>Also- more Zane angst because I godsdamn like it.<p>

* * *

><p>Zane sat at the table in his kitchen and pushed some food around on his plate. The discussion and the dinner he had planned on with Jo had not gone the way he had hoped. Instead of hanging out at Cafe Diem talking with Jo over one of Vince's concoctions, Zane had just gotten a to-go bag after his miserable attempt to work things out and headed back to his place.<p>

Alone.

So fucking alone.

She hadn't reacted the way that he had expected at all. Surprise that he wanted something more would have been his first guess. Hell, he was surprised that he wanted more than to just fall into bed with her a few times a week. But, instead, he was treated to some blase`, mildly apologetic psychobabble bullshit about not knowing what she wanted and needing some time and not being able to wait for him because 'who knows what the future holds' or whatever.

If he hadn't known that all major personnel had been checked for nanobugs, Zane would have wondered if Jo had been brain hacked like Alison. But Jo had been scanned. He remembered her complaining about it.

So, instead of having a valid justification for her recent behavior, he was left with the obvious conclusion: she just didn't care.

Zane had no doubt that Jo loved Other!Zane. From what he had been able to piece together, the guy had been Eureka's version of a fucking rock star. Helped save the town on his first day, department head within a year of hitting town and little-to-no prison time. No additional jail time. Released to his own recognizance after a day. No tracking anklet. No tazering. Patents out the ass and a Nobel nod. Oh yeah- and years dating Jo.

Years. With one woman. And only one woman. How weird was that?

She hadn't said yes to Other!Zane though. She hadn't said no to him either. And Jo seemed happy when _they_ spent time together. For one brief moment in time, Zane had thought that he had a chance to have the life that the other prick version of himself had lived.

But then she had turned down going to Titan with him. And when he had gotten the balls to ask her to wait for him, she had said no. Two flat out rejections. What was a guy supposed to think?

If anyone had asked, Zane would have told them exactly what was going on in the mind of a person in such a situations- a lot of confusion thanks to three separate voices constantly arguing. Well, only two were arguing. The third one mostly just asked the other two to shut up.

The first voice was a familiar one. It was the one that had told him that stealing was fun, rules were for other people and that it's not illegal if you don't get caught. That voice had been Zane's guiding principle for most of his life.

Except lately. Lately he had been listening to the other voice- the one that sounded suspiciously like him mom. That voice had been telling him to try to work within the rules, listen to what other people had to say and that Jo was worth the hassle.

Listening to that voice had gotten him pardoned and a spot on Astraeous. Or, at least, listening to that voice had gotten him in good with Jo- who had, in turn, gotten him his pardon and a trip to Titan.

The third voice was the only one that made much sense and all it wanted was for the other two to be quiet. 

* * *

><p>The voices in Jo's head were much less complicated. They just whispered in her ear and nudged her in the 'right' direction. They told her that Titan was just one more sibling rivalry that she didn't need in her life. The voices told her that she had to make sure it was this Zane that she wanted to be with and that she wasn't just chasing ghosts. They also told her that she should look into a life outside of Eureka- just in case she was missing something.<p>

It was something worth thinking about anyways.

_'Of course_,' Beverly thought as she stared at the monitors, _'it's much easier to make decisions when someone is helping you think_.'

Injecting Jo with the nanobots before locking her in her own cell had been a brilliant idea. Waiting a few weeks before activating them, though, had been pure genius. In their dormant state, the nanobots were undetectable. It had been aggravating to have to wait and it was tedious having to merely suggest instead of taking control but, in a short time, Eureka would be missing one of it's most diligent protectors- amongst others.

Soon, Euereka would be in more capable hands.

Hers.


	11. Weasels and WAHbulancing

Title: Weasels and WAHbulancing  
>Characters: Zane, Parrish<br>Rating: PG13  
>Warnings: Language<br>Disclaimer: Don't own it. Spoilers for 4.20  
>Summary: Parrish tries one more time to get to Titan. Zane wangsts some more. Again. Seriously. WTH, brain, WTH?<p>

* * *

><p>"You know, you don't have to leave her."<p>

Zane's eyes darted sideways to catch a glimpse of Parrish standing next to him and then quickly returned to watching the quickly retreating figure. Despite the swarm of busy people, a path miraculously appeared before her.

Ok. Maybe it wasn't a miracle. Maybe everyone was just used to getting out of her way.

"You could just stay and figure things out with her."

Oh, he could stay all right. But the chance of figuring out this thing between them was 'slim' to 'no fucking way'.

"Six months is a long time to just leave things like that."

The past six _seconds_ had been long and it was looking to seem even longer if Parrish didn't take the hint and fuck off. Trying to manipulate him into ditching out on Astraeus wasn't going to work and continuing to try was just going to piss him off.

"Can you seriously tell me that you can wait six whole months to come back to that?"

Zane sighed as Jo finally turned the corner out of sight and glanced back over at Parrish. The man that he had occasionally called a friend just didn't get it. As Zane turned his attention back to checking the last of his personal inventory, he muttered, "What makes you think she's going to be here waiting for me?"

There was a pause and, while Parrish worked through what he had just said, Zane tried to place why that last kiss was bothering him so much. Kissing Jo should not make him feel like the floor was dropping out beneath him.

Except that she had kissed him exactly the same way she had right after he had signed his parole papers. The same way she had when she thought that he was going to be leaving. It wasn't a 'I'll miss you kiss'. It had been goodbye.

"What do you mean? Is Lupo leaving Eureka?" Parrish's incredulous tone didn't surprise Zane. The thought of Eureka sans Lupo was too strange to contemplate. It would be like Cafe Diem without Vincent or a group of junior physicists without large hadron jokes.

Zane gave up trying to stuff the rest of his crap into his bag and looked up to see the deserted hallway. It was hard to believe that something so crowded just a few seconds ago was now completely empty but the truth was hard to ignore when it was literally right in front of him.

"She's already gone."


End file.
